Tradition

Confucianism

Overview

Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius in the Hundred Schools of Thought era (c. 500 BCE), Confucianism integrates philosophy, ethics, and social governance, with a core focus on virtue, social harmony, and familial responsibility.

Confucianism emphasizes virtue through self-cultivation and communal effort. Key virtues include ren (仁, "benevolence"), yi (義; "righteousness"), li (禮; "propriety"), zhi (智; "wisdom"), and xin (信; "sincerity"). These values, deeply tied to the notion of tian (天; "Heaven"), present a worldview where human relationships and social order are manifestations of sacred moral principles. While Confucianism does not emphasize an omnipotent deity, it upholds tian as a transcendent moral order.

Confucius regarded himself as a transmitter of cultural values from the preceding Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou dynasties. Suppressed during the Legalist Qin dynasty (c. 200 BCE), Confucianism flourished under the Han dynasty (c. 130 BCE), displacing the proto-Taoist Huang–Lao tradition to become the dominant ideological framework, while blending with the pragmatic teachings of Legalism. The Tang dynasty (c. 600 CE) witnessed a response to the rising influence of Buddhism and Taoism in the development of Neo-Confucianism, a reformulated philosophical system that became central to the imperial examination system and the scholar-official class of the Song dynasty (c. 1000 CE).

The abolition of the imperial examination system in 1905 marked the decline of state-endorsed Confucianism. In the early 20th century, Chinese reformers came to associate Confucianism with China's "Century of Humiliation", and instead embraced alternative ideologies such as Sun Yat-sen's "Three Principles of the People" and later Maoism. Nevertheless, Confucianism endured as a cultural force, influencing East Asian economic and social structures into the modern era. Confucian work ethic was credited with the rise of the East Asian economy in the late twentieth century.

Confucianism remains influential in China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and regions with significant Chinese diaspora. A modern Confucian revival has gained momentum in academic and cultural circles, culminating in the establishment of a national Confucian Church in China in 2015, reflecting renewed interest in Confucian ideals as a foundation for social and moral values.

American philosopher Herbert Fingarette describes Confucianism as a philosophical system which regards "the secular as sacred".

Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).

In the original texts

Passages from public-domain books where Confucianism is discussed.

Confucianism did not assume its present form until the twelfth century A.D., when the personal God in whom Confucius had believed was thrust aside by the philosopher Chu Fu Tze,[21] whose interpretation of Confucianism has ever since been recognized as orthodox. Since the fall of the Mongols (1370), the Government has uniformly favoured Confucianism as the teaching of the State; before that, there were struggles…
Bertrand Russell, The Problem of China
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Many people do all their buying there, because there are fixed prices with a reward for a discovery of any place where the same goods are sold cheaper, and absolute honesty as to quality. But they also said that was the easy way to visit Japan and learn about the clothes, ornaments, toys, etc., and also to see the people, as the Japanese from all over the country come there to see the sights. There were a group of…
John Dewey, Letters from China and Japan
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There are only _two_ world religions, in the strictest sense of the term, _Buddhism_ and _Christianity_. Confucianism, which might perhaps be included so far as the number of its adherents is concerned, is a system of ethical teachings rather than a religion. Hence, when we take into account the vast number of Chinese peoples, Confucianism will be found to embody a great number of different religious developments…
Wilhelm Max Wundt, Elements of Folk Psychology Outline of a Psychological History of the Development of Mankind
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17. 1. In the highest antiquity, (the people) did not know that there were (their rulers). In the next age they loved them and praised them. In the next they feared them; in the next they despised them. Thus it was that when faith (in the Tao) was deficient (in the rulers) a want of faith in them ensued (in the people). 2. How irresolute did those (earliest rulers) appear, showing (by their reticence) the importance…
Laozi, The Tao Teh King
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"In the case of a private man's obtaining the empire, there must be in him virtue equal to that of Shun and Yu, and moreover there must be the presenting him to Heaven by the preceding emperor. It was on this latter account that Chung-ne did not obtain the kingdom. "When the throne descends by natural succession, he who is displaced by Heaven must be like Keeh or Chow. It was on this account that Yih, E Yin, and the…
Confucius, The Wisdom of Confucius with Critical and Biographical Sketches
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